


What Could Go Wrong

by JuliaM (seshat0120)



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magnificent Seven AU: ATF, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22357018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seshat0120/pseuds/JuliaM
Summary: What started out as the flu turns into a hostage situation for Ezra and Vin.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	What Could Go Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Kelly plot bunny suggestions.  
> Thank you to Amanda for her knowledge of firearms as well as being my second set of eyes to find any plot inconsistencies.

It was almost a ritual...a ritual that was starting to drive the others insane. Ezra would type a few words on the report he was working on, sniffle, cough into his arm, reach for a tissue to blow his nose, toss it into the trash can beside his desk, then begin it all over again a few minutes later. It had been going on all morning until, one by one, the nerves of the other five men in the bullpen were shot. It was Buck who finally lost patience when Ezra started the ritual once more.

“For God’s sake, Ezra,” he called out. “Stop it and just go home before you get the rest of sick.”

Ezra froze in the process of reaching for another tissue and turned shocked eyes on Buck. He blinked a few times before responding. “I’m not ill. What is it that I am supposed to be doing?” He finished reaching for the tissue and used it to wipe his running nose.

“That right there,” Buck said pointing. “It’s been the same thing all morning,” he continued. “You type a little, then you sniffle, then you cough, then you blow. Over and over and over the whole morning. It’s enough to drive a man insane. You’re sick. Just admit it.”

“I apologize,” Ezra began. “I wasn’t aware…” Before he could continue, he quickly reached for more tissues as, this time, a series of sneezes burst forth. “I apologize,” he said again. “I’m not ill, just...”

“Sick,” Nathan quickly filled in. “When you keep coughing and sneezing like that, it’s because you’re sick.” He got up and went over to Ezra’s desk and reached out a hand to check if he had a fever.

When he saw Nathan’s hand heading for his forehead, he dodged it. “I am fine,” he said emphatically. “I am not ill, or contagious, or anything else you’re thinking. I suggest you get out of my space,” he nearly growled when Nathan persisted.

Vin shook his head slightly watching the two of them. “You ain’t fine, Ezra, and you ain’t been fine for the last day and half.” When Ezra opened his mouth once more to deny he was ill, Vin continued, “There’s only a few feet separating us. You don’t think I noticed you takin’ the aspirin yesterday. You just ain’t hiding it as good today.”

“I assure you,” Ezra said as he tried to muffle a cough, “I am just fine. It’s just...just allergies or something.”

Nathan was finally able to out-dodge Ezra’s dodging and put his hand on his forehead. “Allergies do not come with fevers,” he stated firmly. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

Chris picked that moment to come out of his office. “Problem out here, boys?” he asked looking between Ezra and Nathan.

“There’s nothing wrong,” Ezra said only to be overridden by Nathan’s, “This fool’s sick but he’s too damned stubborn to admit it.”

“I said I am not sick,” Ezra stated emphatically through gritted teeth. “However, y’all are keeping me from getting this report done. I do believe Mr. Larrabee indicated these needed to be finished by the end of today.” He threw a look in Chris’ direction hoping that by bringing up the deadline for the reports, he’d get the team leader on his side.

Chris looked carefully at Ezra. He noted how pale he looked except for his cheeks that were flushed and his nose that was starting to redden from how much he’d been wiping it with tissues. “You’re sick,” he said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. “Go home. The report can wait.”

Ezra heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. “Why is it all of you gentlemen seem to think you’re better versed in how I’m feeling than I am? I said I feel fine. I am not ill.”

“You know,” JD piped up, “Some people think if you keep saying you’re not sick then you won’t be sick. You know - mind over matter.” He caught the glare Nathan sent him. “But…uh…there’s probably nothing to that.”

“Mind over matt...” Ezra began to say only to be cut off when he started coughing again. This time the cough went on until he was doubled over. When it finally let up, he leaned weakly back in his chair and wiped the tears from his cheeks that the coughing had caused. “Ok,” he whispered. “Maybe I am sick.”

“I don’t think there’re any ‘maybes’ about it, Hoss,” Buck said as he handed Ezra the cup of water he’d gotten for him when he started coughing.

“Now that it’s taken a team meeting to decide you’re sick,” Chris began sarcastically, “you can go home.”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Nathan said as he eyed Ezra. “He’s running a fever and that cough sounds bad. He should probably...”

“No,” Ezra cut him off. “I’ll go home but I will not go to the hospital or anywhere else you’re thinking about.”

“I don’t know,” Chris said as he also eyed his undercover agent. “That cough did sound like a dog barking. Nathan’s probably right.” He held up his hand to stop any further protests from Ezra. “You’re supposed to be starting on the McGovern case next week. You can’t do that if you’re sick.” Chris eyed the others and came to a decision. “Vin, drive him home and while you’re at it, stop by the urgent care at Denver Health. That’s on the way.”

Vin nodded and started turning down his computer and gathering his belongs preparatory to leaving. Ezra sat staring at Chris for a moment wondering how he’d lost control of the situation...if he ever had control. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m perfectly capable...” he began to protest until Chris cut him off.

“I could ask Nathan to drive you instead. I’m sure he’d be happy to skip the urgent care and just go to the emergency room instead and get you admitted,” Chris said with an evil grin.

Ezra looked quickly at Nathan who seemed more than ready to carry through on Chris’s threat and thought the better of protesting. “On second thought, your plan sounds perfect,” he conceded. “However, I refuse to ride in that deathtrap Vin has seen fit to call a vehicle.” He wasn’t quite ready to give up the fight.

“Fine with me,” Vin agreed with a broad grin as he reached over and grabbed Ezra’s keys from the corner of the desk. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to drive your new Jag. JD, you rode in with Buck today, right?” Receiving a nod from JD he tossed him his keys. “Mind driving my Jeep to Ez’s when you get off”

Ezra began to sputter in protest then threw his hands up. “Fine. Whatever,” he conceded gracelessly. “It seems no one really cares what I think or want.”

“It’s just the opposite, son,” Josiah said as he handed Ezra his coat. “We do care about you. That’s why we want you to take care of yourself.”

While Josiah helped Ezra get ready to leave, Chris pulled Vin aside. “Don’t let him out of your sight,” he advised. “You know how slippery he is. He’ll be out the back door before anyone even has a chance to take his temperature.”

Vin looked over toward Ezra then back to Chris. “As rough as he’s looking right now, I don’t think he’s got it in him to pull a Houdini, but I’ll stick close to him.” He knew, as well as the rest, that although Ezra may not look well enough to try to escape, it would be very out of character if he didn’t at least try. “C’mon, Ez,” he said as he slapped Ezra across the shoulder. “Let’s see how fast I can get the Jag to go.” he said with an evil smirk.

M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7

Despite his teasing, Vin took care driving the Jag. Thanks to a lack of mid-day traffic, ten minutes later, he was pulling into the parking lot at the Denver Health Adult Urgent Care. Despite how short the drive was, it was still long enough for Ezra to have dozed off with his head leaning against the window.

Vin looked over to where his passenger was sleeping and tried to think of the last time Ezra had looked so poorly and run down. The only thing he could come up with, not counting the car wreck Ezra had been in late last year, was when he’d had appendicitis a few months before that...and what an eye opener that had been for the rest of them. “We’re here,” he said as he nudged the other man’s shoulder.

With a start, Ezra sat up straight. “Huh…wha…” he questioned in confusion as he looked around. It took a few seconds for him to get his bearings and realize they were in the parking lot of the urgent care. “Oh. Um…I have a proposition for you, Mr. Tanner.”

“Uh huh,” Vin responding suspiciously. “I’ll bet you do.”

“What if you just keep driving. We can be at my place in ten minutes,” Ezra continued undeterred. “I really don’t need the assistance of medical personnel.” The sudden coughing fit seemed to disprove his claim. “It’s just a cold, really.”

“And I’m the Queen of England,” Vin responded as he opened the car door. “Let’s go. The sooner you get in there, the sooner you’re done.”

“Fine,” Ezra huffed as he pulled open the car door. He wasn’t going to admit it, but he really was feeling horrible and sitting in a waiting room didn’t seem the most likely way to feel better. Curled up in his feather bed and sleeping until whatever it was that he had had passed seemed a much better idea. “You’ll see. They’re just going to tell me it’s a cold and there’s nothing that can be done.”

M7 M7 M7 M7 M7 M7

“You don’t have to sit there looking so smug,” Ezra groused sometime later. There had been little to no wait and he’d been seen by a physician assistant not long after checking in. As he’d promised Chris, Vin had remained with Ezra even in the exam room.

The PA, who’d introduced herself as Becky, had just returned with the results of Ezra’s rapid influenza test. Much to Vin’s glee and Ezra’s chagrin, the results were positive.

Ignoring the “who me?” look Vin gave him, Ezra questioned Becky. “Are you absolutely certain it’s the flu? No mistake?”

Becky did her best to hold back a chuckle at the begging tone Ezra used. “There is a small probability of a false positive but, usually, if there’s any inaccuracy with the testing, it’s a false negative. We can do a culture but that could take from three to ten days to get results. By then, you’d either be over it or it could have progressed to something worse. I’d recommend beginning treatment right away.”

Ezra tried to hold back a sigh afraid that it would only trigger another coughing fit. “And just what does this treatment entail? I’m assuming I can return to my abode.”

"It’s nothing you can’t do at home,” the Becky assured him then explained prescriptions for Tamiflu to help shorten the duration of the influenza infection as well as relieve some of the symptoms. There was also a prescription for Tessalon to help with the cough. She then excused herself to get the prescriptions from the printer leaving Vin and Ezra alone in the exam room.

“I thought you were supposed to get a flu shot,” Vin asked. “Wasn’t Nathan going on a couple of weeks ago about how your more susceptible since you lost your spleen in that car wreck and reminding you about the flu shot clinic goin’ on in the Federal Building.”

“Badgered would be more like it,” Ezra corrected earning a small nod from Vin since Nathan had badgered all of them. “If you recall, that was right in the middle of the Murphy case. While you were availing yourself of the flu shot clinic, I was busy cozying up to Murphy.” Seeing Vin getting ready to say something else and anticipating what it was, Ezra continued. “I forgot once the case was over, ok. I just plain forgot and I’m assuming Nathan did as well since I didn’t hear any more of his badgering.”

“Do me a favor. Just don’t breathe on me,” Vin asked looking sheepish. “I may have ‘forgotten’ as well.”

“You have my word that I’ll endeavor not to infec…” Ezra was cut off from saying anything else when he started coughing.

“Maybe you should talk a little less,” Vin suggested as he handed Ezra the bottle of water the receptionist had given him when he’d asked where the water fountain was.

The two men sat in silence for a few minutes. Vin was just getting ready to remark on how long it was taking Becky to get the prescriptions when they heard raised voices. “Wonder what’s goin’ on?” he said as he approached the door. He cracked the door open enough that he was able to see into the waiting area. What he saw made him quickly back up and silently close the door and turn the lock. He held up has hand to indicate Ezra should remain quiet. “Couple of guys out there waving guns around,” he whispered. Again, he waved Ezra to silence then pressed his ear to the door trying to hear what was going on in the waiting area. He was able to catch a few words here and there and pieced it together. “Think they’re looking for drugs.”

As he heard footsteps coming in the direction of the room they were in, he turned the lock on the door then reached over and turned off the light realizing that it could probably be seen under the door and would give them away. The windowless room was immediately plunged into darkness. Going solely by touch and remembering where Ezra had been sitting, he pulled him to the floor and the two men slid as far away from the door as they could. As the doorknob jiggled, they held their breath.

“Give me ID,” Vin whispered as soon as they heard the footsteps once more retreat.

Without asking why, Ezra handed Vin the wallet containing his ATF ID and badge.

Again, using touch only, Vin located a cabinet that wasn’t locked and put his and Ezra’s ID wallets in it. Hopefully, the situation would end long before they were discovered in the room. If it didn’t and they were discovered, he knew it could cause more harm than good for the men outside to know they were ATF officers.

As he turned back around, he saw a glow from where Ezra was sitting and realized he’d pulled out his phone. He slid over so he could see what Ezra was doing and saw that he was texting Chris. At least they could get the word out about what was going on.

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

When Chris’ phone buzzed with a text, he didn’t think anything of it. Even when he saw the text was from Ezra, he still didn’t suspect a problem had cropped up. Likely, he was texting to let him know what they all knew: he was sick and wouldn’t be coming back to the office. “Son of a bitch,” he exclaimed when he read the message that said Ezra and Vin were involved in some kind of situation involving guns, drugs, and hostages.

“Problem?” Buck asked. He’d heard Chris’ exclamation and came into his office to see what was wrong.

“Those two. I can’t let them out of my sight.” Chris looked up in Buck’s direction and saw the confusion on his face. “Ezra just texted. Apparently, they’ve locked themselves in an exam room and there are two armed men holding everyone else hostage and demanding drugs.”

“You’re kidding!” Buck came into the office and looked at Chris’ phone over his shoulder. “You’re not kidding.”

“Get on the phone with Denver PD,” Chris ordered as he texted a question asking for more information.” If his men were hiding in a locked room and texting, he didn’t want to risk giving away their position away by calling.

There was a quick back and forth of questions before it suddenly went silent on Ezra’s side. Chris waited another minute to see if there’d be an answer to his last question but, when there was none, he sent it again. Again, there was no response. “I hope it’s just your battery,” he muttered. He went out to the bullpen where the rest of the men were.

“What’s going on?” Josiah asked as soon as he saw Chris. “Buck told us something about a hostage situation.”

“Seems it. Ezra couldn’t tell me much and I think his phone battery must have gone dead. At least, I hope it did. Did you let the PD know we’ve got two men inside when you called it in?” he asked Buck. Getting an affirmative nod, he went back into his office to get his coat. There was no question where he and the other five would be going. “Remind me why I let those two do anything together,” he muttered as he came out of his office.

“Hate to tell you, Stud,” Buck said with a nervous laugh, “but you’re the one who sent them off together.”

“Should’a known there’d be trouble,” Chris muttered as he dialed the phone. Once connected, he asked to be put through to whomever was overseeing the situation at the urgent care and passed on the information Ezra had given him. He advised him that the remaining members of Team Seven were on the way.

“Local LEO’s aren’t going to like that,” JD pointed out as they piled into the elevator.

“Do I look like I care?” Chris asked rhetorically. Wisely, JD didn’t answer.

M7M7M7M7M7

As the battery on Ezra’s phone died, they were again plunged into complete darkness. “Let’s hope you gave Chris enough information to send in the cavalry,” Vin whispered.

“Your phone,” Ezra said in a strangled whisper as he again fought the urge to cough. He crawled back toward where he’d been sitting and felt the floor under the chair looking for the bottle of water he’d put down there. Finding it, he took a quick sip. It quelled the urge to cough, but only slightly. He moved back to sit next to Vin. It was getting harder to both hold back the cough and catch his breath. He’d give anything just to curl up on the floor and sleep, but he knew that wasn’t an option.

Vin pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the texting app. As Ezra sat next to him, he could feel him trembling. He squeezed his shoulder in encouragement the started texting Chris. He was slow entering in the text but at least his battery had more life than Ezra’s had had.

M7M7M7M7M7

Chris and the others were just entering the parking garage when his phone pinged with a text message. He quickly pulled it out of his pocked and opened the message. “It’s from Vin,” he told the others. “Ezra’s phone went dead.” He quickly texted back the same question he’d asked Ezra but hadn’t received a response to then waited for the response. By the time they’d reached their vehicles, he was still waiting. “No way his battery went dead, too,” he grumbled. A few seconds later, his phone pinged. _Ex rm. 2_ the text read answering Chris’ question asking where they were. “It took that long to text that?”

“Vin’s not exactly the speediest at texting,” JD pointed out.

_On our way. Give the phone to Ezra_ , Chris texted back knowing they wouldn’t have time to wait for Vin’s glacially slow texting if they needed information right away. _Sit tight, don’t do anything stupid._ As he hit “send”, he realized how useless the last part probably was. Ezra, Vin, and doing something stupid tended to go hand in hand more times than he’d like to think.

“Let’s get going,” he said as he pulled open the door of his vehicle. “JD get back on the line with the guy in charge…Mulroney, I think his name is. Let him know we’ve got two men in exam room 2 and it doesn’t look like the perps know about them.”

M7M7M7M7M7

Vin read the text from Chris then sheepishly handed the phone over to Ezra. In the dim glow from the cellphone screen, he could see the other man wasn’t doing well. Ezra had been doing a good job of hiding how badly he’d been feeling but it looked like the illness was finally winning out. “Hang in there. They’ll be here soon.”

Ezra nodded shallowly not wanting to risk triggering the cough that wanted to escape. He took another sip from the almost empty bottle of water.

Time ticked by slowly as the two men waited in the dark room. Occasionally, they could hear raised voices coming from the waiting room. “I hate hiding like this,” Vin whispered after a time. “There’s got to be something we can do.” He thunked his head gently against the wall. “You have your weapon with you?”

“Lockbox. Desk.” Ezra responded using a few words as possible.

“Yeah, mine too,” Vin replied. The room may have been dark, but he could feel the surprised look that Ezra was giving him. “What? How was I supposed to know a visit to urgent care was going to turn into a crime scene?”

There was a pause then both men simultaneously whispered, “Should’ve known.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Ezra realized how much of a mistake it had been to speak. He knew he couldn’t hold back the cough much longer. He leaned his forehead against Vin’s shoulder and took a tight hold of his leg as he struggled to keep the cough in.

“Hang in there,” Vin comforted. He could feel the tremors going through the other man’s body as he fought his body’s instinct. He could also hear footsteps right outside the door. He started to reach up to hold his hand over Ezra’s mouth to, hopefully, muffle the cough but he was a second too late. The deep, congested coughing sound like a dog barking and he knew their position had been given away when he heard the doorknob rattle. It was confirmed when a voice ordered them out.

“You got five seconds,” the voice yelled, “Or I shoot the door open.”

“Ok,” Vin called out. He felt Ezra’s hand on his arm and turned towards him. He accepted the phone that was thrust in his direction. On it, he could see Ezra had sent a text to Chris alerting him their position had been compromised.

“You stay,” Ezra forced out before he started coughing again.

“No way,” Vin replied. “I’m not leaving you alone out there.” He heard the doorknob rattle again. “We’re coming out,” he shouted, not wanting to risk whoever was on the other side of the door carrying through on his threat to shoot.

He helped Ezra off the floor and made his way over to the door. “I’m opening it now,” he warned not wanting to startle the perp. Still supporting Ezra with one hand, he unlocked the door and pulled it slowly open until the two of them were visible through the doorway. He held his free hand up to show he was unarmed as Ezra did the same. “Just take it easy. We’re coming out,” he told the man who stood outside the door pointing a gun at them. He guessed he couldn’t have been more than his early twenties. He was razor thin and it didn’t look…or smell…like he’s seen a shower, or his clothes had seen the laundry in a few too many days.

“Who is it, Zack,” they heard called from the waiting room.

Zack gestured with the gun he had that Vin and Ezra should precede him to the waiting room. “Two guys hiding in one of the rooms,” he called back to his accomplice. Once they were in the waiting room, he gestured for Vin and Ezra to sit with the others on the floor by one of the walls.

As they started to sit, Ezra was overcome by another coughing fit and Vin grabbed him to give him support while lowering him to the floor.

“What’s his problem,” the unnamed assailant asked as he sneered at them.

Vin glanced over to the other armed man for just a second as he came to stand in front of them as well. He looked to be about the same age as Zack but was built like a linebacker. “He’s sick,” he explained then took off the jacket he still had on and wrapped it around Ezra’s shoulders.

The unnamed man let bark of laughter as he watched them. “He your boyfriend or something?”

“I can think of things a hell of a lot worse than that,” Vin spit back. “Look, I don’t think they have what you want here. Why don’t the two of you just leave before things get worse? None of us are going to stop you.”

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion”

Zack looked over to the other man and then nervously looked toward the door. “Maybe he’s right, Dylan. We should just get out here.”

“Not ‘til we get what we came for,” Dylan growled. “Did you search them? Make sure they don’t have anything?”

One by one, Zack yanked them to their feet and quickly searched them. “Just these,” he said as he handed their wallets to Dylan.

“What the hell kind of name is ‘Ezra’?” Dylan asked when he read the driver’s license in Ezra’s wallet.

“What the hell kind of name is ‘Dylan’?” Ezra countered earning himself a punch in the gut from Dylan.

Vin grabbed him as he doubled over and lowered him to the floor. “Might not be a good idea to get him riled.

“You may be right,” Ezra wheezed.

“Just sit there and shut up,” Dylan menaced. “All of you. I don’t want to hear anything from any of you.”

“What are we gonna do, Dylan,” Zack asked nervously. “Maybe we should just do like he said and leave. They don’t have what we’re after.”

It looked like Dylan was on the verge of agreeing until a patrol car pulled into the parking lot with lights flashing. “Shit,” Dylan cursed. “Close those blinds,” he ordered Zack then looked back at the hostages. “Everyone get comfortable ‘cause it looks like we’re going to be here for a while,” he mocked.

M7M7M7M7M7

“Damn it,” Chris cursed when he saw the latest text come through from Ezra and Vin. He sat in the passenger seat as Buck drove hell bent up the road.

“Problem,” Buck asked looking away from the road for the briefest of moments.

“Position compromised,” Chris read from the phone then looked over to Buck. “They’ve been found.” He glanced to the backseat where JD sat with his phone pressed to his ear as he kept in constant contact with the Denver PD. “JD,” he started to say but JD was already conveying the information. Seeing that JD had the contact with the PD well in hand, he turned back around. “Step on it,” he told Buck. “There’s no telling what trouble they’re going to cause.” It was anyone’s guess if he meant the PD, the perps, or Vin and Ezra. Although, if Buck were to bet on it, he’d have picked Vin and Ezra as the ‘they’ Chris was talking about.

M7M7M7M7M7

Vin let out a sigh when he saw the flashing lights of the patrol car that pulled into the parking lot knowing that talking their way out of the situation had just gotten that much harder. He also gave serious consideration to pounding the moron who thought it was a great idea to advertise the police presence in quite spectacular fashion. At least they hadn’t used the siren.

“Wonderful timing,” Ezra murmured setting off another coughing fit.

“Shut up,” Dylan yelled out at them. When Ezra continued to cough, he moved in front of him and stuck the gun in his face. “I said shut up,” he ground out.

“Leave him alone,” Vin demanded as he pushed the gun away. He started rubbing Ezra’s back and leaned close to him. He got worried when he saw how red his friend’s face was turning with all the coughing and the tears that were streaming down his face. “Hang in there, Ez. Try to breathe easy,” he softly comforted.

Undeterred, Dylan shoved Vin away and again stuck the gun in the ailing man’s face. “He damned well better shut up or I’m gonna shut him up…permanently.”

“He can’t help it,” Becky said timidly from where she was sitting. “He’s got the flu. It makes you cough.”

Dylan looked over to Becky then stomped in her direction. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up from the floor. Shoving the gun under her chin, he put his face right near hers. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion. Do you?”

“No,” Becky sobbed as she tried to escape the painful hold. “I…I’m sorry,” she stuttered.

Having seen the abusive hold Dylan had on Becky, Ezra struggled to get to his feet. “Leave her alone,” he gasped out.

Vin desperately tried to pull Ezra back to the floor. As much as he was also incensed by the treatment of Becky, he knew that angering either of the two men would only cause more problems than they already had. What they had to do was de-escalate the situation. He knew if Ezra were thinking straight, that’s what he’d try to do as well.

Quicker than Vin would have thought, Dylan was in front of Ezra. “I said shut up,” he growled then hit Ezra with the butt of his gun. Vin tried to catch his friend as he crumpled to the floor. “You didn’t have to do that,” he growled then turned his attention to the fallen man. Although he wasn’t knocked unconscious, Ezra was groggy. Blood was streaming from a cut along his hairline.

“Let me help him,” Becky pleaded.

“No one’s helping him,” Dylan said then shoved Becky back to the floor. “I told him to shut up. He didn’t listen.”

“Let her help,” Vin said calmly. “You’re in enough trouble as it is. You don’t want him or anyone else to die. That’s the death penalty if you let that happen.”

“They have to catch us and that’s not going to happen,” Dylan sneered.

Zack, who had been looking out at the gathering police through the small gap left by the window blinds looked nervously between Ezra and Dylan. “Maybe you should let her help him. There’s an awful lot of police out there.”

“It’ll go easier on you if they know you let her help,” Vin pointed out.

“Just shut up, all of you,” Dylan yelled. He hesitated for a moment then gestured at Becky with the gun. “Fine. Help him but don’t you try anything.”

Becky quickly scrambled over to Ezra and began assessing him. “I need supplies.” Her voice was steadier without the nervousness she’d displayed earlier now that she had a patient to concentrate on. She glanced quickly over to Dylan then back to Ezra. “I need something to stop the bleeding and clean the laceration.”

“Take her,” Dylan told Zack.

“Keep him still,” Becky told Vin before she got up from the floor. She pointed toward a supply room. “Everything I need is in there.”

“Fine,” Zack said and gestured for her to walk in front of him. “But don’t try anything.”

Vin watched as they disappeared into the room until a moan from Ezra brought his attention back to him. “Stay still,” he cautioned as Ezra began moving restlessly. When that didn’t still him, Vin grabbed his shoulders to hold them down. “C’mon, Ez. Becky says you need to stay still.”

Ezra blinked up groggily at Vin a few times. “Vin,” he finally slurred. “Wha’ happened?”

“You got your bell rung,” Vin explained. He loosened his hold on Ezra’s shoulders when it didn’t look like he was going to start moving again. “Becky’s getting some stuff to help you. You just need to stay still.”

The words were no sooner out of Vin’s mouth when Ezra rolled to the side and started coughing. He grabbed his head as the coughing continued. “Lord, mah head. Make it stop,” he managed to gasp out between cough. His accent was thicker than normal as he fought the pain and illness.

“I wish I could,” Vin said sympathetically as he rubbed Ezra’s back.

An older woman Vin recognized as the receptionist when they checked in handed him a bottle she’d been holding. “Maybe this will help.” As Dylan started to approach, she turned her attention to him. “It’s just water. Do you want to hear him keep coughing?” she challenged. Vin got the impression she was not someone to be tussled with. Oddly, Dylan backed off.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Vin accepted the bottle of water and glanced quickly at Dylan. “I don’t think he’s someone you want to get mad,” he quietly told the woman.

“He needs someone to take him over a knee and paddle his behind is what he needs. I’d be happy to do it.”

“I just bet you would,” Vin said with a grin. “Name’s Vin Tanner. My friend’s Ezra.”

“Nettie Wells,” the woman replied. She gestured to Ezra. “You best take care of your friend.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Vin agreed. He slipped an arm under Ezra’s shoulders and propped him up a bit. “Here, Ez. Try drinking some of this.”

Ezra accepted the bottle of water and sipped at it. He looked around at the others gathered on the floor. “Where’s Becky,” he asked in concern when he didn’t see her.

Vin grabbed on to his friend to keep him still again. “Calm down. She’s fine. She’s getting some stuff to fix you up.” He leaned down a bit to catch Ezra’s wandering gaze. It concerned him that his friend didn’t seem to be focusing well. “She’s ok. You just need to stay still.”

“She’s not hurt?” Ezra asked again to be sure.

“She’s not.” Vin pointed to where Becky was emerging from the supply room. “There she is. Now just settle down and let her help you.”

“Hey, Mr. Standish,” Becky said softly as she knelt on the floor next to him. She placed the supplies she’d brought with her on the floor and gestured for Zack to hand her the items he was holding. “I’m just going to clean you up and make sure he didn’t hit you too hard.”

Becky proceeded to clean the laceration at Ezra’s hairline and bandage it. “He’s going to need stitches, but this will do for now,” she told Vin. Once the laceration was taken care of, she used a penlight to check his pupils, asked him to follow her finger as she moved it in front of him and performed several other neuro checks.

“Well?” Vin asked as he eyed Dylan and Zack. Neither had interfered in Becky’s examination but he didn’t trust them not to. They both looked too desperate and too unpredictable – especially Dylan.

Becky sat back on her heels and looked over at Vin. “His responses are a little sluggish. I can’t say for certain without a CT or MRI, but he probably has at least a mild concussion. His blood pressure is elevated and his fever’s up another degree since earlier.” She looked back down at her patient and tucked the blanket she’d brought from the supply room around him. “He needs better care than I can give him here.”

“Hey,” Vin called out to get either Dylan’s or Zack’s attention.

“How many times do I have to tell you to shut up,” Dylan growled. “Or do I have to shut you up like I did your little friend.”

“You know it’d go easier on you if you let him go,” Vin said ignoring the threat.

Dylan crouched down so he was at eye level with Vin. “Why do I want to do that? You think I’m giving up a bargaining chip? I’m not stupid, you know. As long as I keep all of you right here, the cops aren’t gonna do a thing.” He got back to his feet and kicked Ezra in the ribs before walking away snickering.

“Hey,” Vin yelled after him while at the same time Becky said, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Mr. Tanner,” Ezra gasped, “I thought we weren’t going to rile him.” He paused for a moment grimacing at the new hurt. “When we get out of here, I’m holding Mr. Larrabee personally responsible for this.”

“You and me both, Ez. You and me both.”

M7M7M7M7M7

The first thing Chris did when they arrived on the scene was locate the command post that had been set up. “Captain Mulroney,” he questioned the man that was pointed out to him. “I’m Larrabee. We spoke earlier. Two of my men are in there,” he said as he flashed his badge.

Mulroney glanced briefly at Chris’ badge. “This is Denver PD matter, Agent Larrabee. ATF has no jurisdiction here. You’re welcome to…”

“Don’t care about jurisdiction,” Chris interrupted. “Two of my men are in there. My team and I aren’t going to sit quietly on the sidelines.”

Mulroney grabbed Chris by the elbow and pulled him slightly away from the others. “Look, Larrabee, I don’t have time for any grandstanding. Your men aren’t the only ones in there. And, as one of your agents informed us a short while ago, their position was made so they’re hostages just like the others that are in there. I appreciate you want to do something but, right now, you need to let us handle this.”

Chris was torn between arguing for an active role in the hostage situation and conceding, as he knew that there wasn’t anything he and the rest of Team 7 could do at the moment. Finally, he sighed. “Fine. All right. You’re in charge. We’ll stay out the way but what are you doing?”

Mulroney eyed Chris warily suspecting that the capitulation may only be temporary. “We’ve established a perimeter and have snipers on the roofs there and there,” he said pointing to the snipers’ positions. “We’re just waiting for the negotiator to get here and make contact with the perps.”

“Yeah…when’s he supposed to get here?” Chris demanded.

“ **She** just got here,” a woman said walking up behind Chris. “Maggie Reynolds,” she said holding her hand out to him. “I was told there were a couple of ATF agents in there. I’m going to assume you’re ATF also.”

“Special Agent Chris Larrabee,” Chris introduced as he took Maggie’s hand. “I head up Regional Mobile Enforcement Team Seven. Ezra and Vin are part of my team.”

“Should I assume your men will sit tight or do they have some kind of Superman complex, I should know about?”

Chris smiled slightly at the question. “With those two, it’s hard to tell. If anyone’s going to get into trouble, it’s them.”

Maggie took in the information with little reaction. “They armed?”

Chris shook his head. “If you mean do they have their service weapons, no. They weren’t here on official business. Ezra’s been sick. That doesn’t mean they’re unarmed. Ezra usually has a backup .380 in an ankle holster. He may or may not have it on him.”

“Basically, two wildcards that could be armed…or maybe not,” she clarified. “Super,” she muttered under breath. “You got a phone line set up, Rich,” she asked Mulroney as she skirted around Chris.

Mulroney held out a handset. “Ready when you are.”

“Ok. Let’s see what these guys want.” She nodded for the call to be put through to the urgent care.

While the call was put through, the other five members of Team Seven came up to Chris. “So,” Buck questioned, “what are we doing?”

“We’re sitting tight while the hostage negotiator tries to end this without it escalating,” Chris responded.

“But we’ll be part of whatever goes down, right?” JD clarified.

Chris kept his attention on Maggie trying to interpret from her body language how the phone call was going. “If I have anything to say about it.”

M7M7M7M7M7

It was tense silence in the urgent care. Dylan and Zack were alternately pacing, covering the hostages, or peeking out the window through the sliver that wasn’t covered by the blinds. When the phone started ringing, everyone flinched.

“They’re just going to come in shooting if you don’t answer that,” Vin calmly said after the phone had rung ten times. “I don’t think any of us want that.”

Dylan pointed to Nettie with his gun and then to the phone on the reception desk. “Answer that, old lady.”

Nettie was unintimidated as she got up from the floor and moved over to the phone. Someone needs to teach you a lesson in manners, young man,” she said as she picked up the phone. “Denver Health Urgent Care. How may I help you?” She listened briefly to the caller then held the phone out to Dylan. “They’d like to speak with you.”

He grabbed the phone from her then waved her back over to the others. “Keep an eye on them,” he ordered Zack then put the phone to his ear. “Yeah.” He listened for a few seconds then broke in. “No. You’re gonna listen to me. If you want to see any of these hostages alive, you’re gonna to do what I say or I’m gonna start sending out dead bodies and I’m gonna start with the old lady.” As he trained the gun on her, Nettie stared him down.

Although Zack was nominally keeping watch over the hostages, most of his attention was on Dylan and the phone call. Vin took advantage of the situation to lean closer to Ezra. “You got that pop gun of yours?” he whispered in Ezra’s ear while making it look like he was adjusting the blanket.

Ezra tried to look indignant, not a simple feat when everything was blurry and he couldn’t bring Vin’s face into focus. ‘Pop gun’ had long been Vin’s teasing way of referring to Ezra’s backup weapon. “Right,” Ezra began then stopped to swallow as he tried to hold nausea at bay. “Right ankle,” he forced out then gasped as his face turned a sickly shade of green.

“Turn him on his side,” Becky ordered as she grabbed the emesis basin from the supplies she’d brought. She got it under Ezra’s mouth just in time as he lost his battle with nausea. Unfortunately, the vomiting triggered another coughing bout leading to more vomiting. “Just hang on. Just ride it out,” she soothed while rubbing his back with her free hand.

Eventually, the vomiting and coughing stopped, and Ezra slumped backwards to lean against Vin’s legs. “That didn’t feel good,” he whispered.

“You have to hang in there, Ez,” Vin comforted. As soon as Ezra leaned back against him, he could feel the heat coming off of his body. He didn’t need a thermometer to know his friend’s temperature was still going up. “Chris is gonna get us out of here.”

“Tired,” Ezra whispered fighting to keep his eyes open. What little energy he’d had had been drained away by the vomiting. “Head hurts. Chest hurts.”

Becky again pulled the blanket up over him and rubbed his shoulder. “I wish I had something to give you to help. Try rest.”

“Yeah, Ez,” Vin agreed trying to quell his additional worry at Ezra’s simple statements and thickening accent. “Try to rest.” He rubbed Ezra’s leg in what appeared to be a comforting motion. As he did so, he let his hand go lower until it slipped under the blanket near his friend’s ankle while he kept a careful watch on Dylan and Zack to make sure they weren’t watching him too closely. Seeing that Dylan was still engrossed in the phone call and Zack was nervously looking toward the blind covered windows where the glow of emergency lights could be seen, he slipped his hand under Ezra’s right pant leg and pulled the gun from the holster there. He quickly slipped it in the back of his belt and pulled his shirt down to cover it. His head jerked over to Dylan when he heard the phone slam down. That was not a good sign.

M7M7M7M7M7

“Damn it,” Maggie cursed as the phone disconnected. “He hung up,” she said needlessly. She turned to where everyone was gathered. “He said we have thirty minutes to give them what they want or he’s going to start killing the hostages.” She directed her gaze to Chris. “It doesn’t sound like he’s figured out your men are ATF.”

“How many hostages besides Vin and Ezra,” Chris demanded trying to get a feel for what the situation was like inside. From the little Ezra had been able to text, it hadn’t sounded like the urgent care was very busy.

“He didn’t say,” Maggie responded. She flipped through a clipboard she’d been handed when she arrived. “According to the schedule we were able to get, there’s at least a dozen workers in there. Denver Health was able to pull patient registration information from today from their computer system. There should only be four patients, including your man, but we don’t know if any of the patients had anyone with them. Including your two men, there’s a minimum of seventeen.”

“There should be security cameras of some kind in there, shouldn’t there?” Chris asked directing the question to Mulroney.

“Most likely. Where are you going with this?”

“If we tap into them, we can get a better handle of what’s going on in there.” Chris turned to where JD was standing. “See what you can do to tap in those cameras.”

“On it,” the younger man said as he jogged off to where a surveillance van was parked.

“Think that kid can get into those cameras in thirty minutes. That’s all the time we have before they start killing hostages,” Mulroney reminded.

“If anyone can do it, JD can,” Chris said with assurance. “What are their demands?”

“That’s part of the problem,” Maggie said. “They don’t have any demands. All he kept saying is that he wants all law enforcement gone. If I had to guess, they don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t think they were intending to get into a hostage situation and now they don’t know what to do…and that can be dangerous. The one I was talking to - he sounds like he’s got a very short fuse.”

“Try getting him back on the line,” Mulroney said.

M7M7M7M7M7

“They’re just going to keep calling,” Vin said as the phone started ringing again.

“Shut up,” Dylan yelled and then turned to Zack who was calling his name as he came out of the room Vin and Ezra had been in. “What? Did you find anything good?” he asked when he saw Zack had something.

When Vin saw what Zack was holding, he felt his stomach drop. In the man’s hands were his and Ezra’s ATF id’s.

“They’re some kind of cops,” Zack said in a panicked voice as he handed the two wallets to Dylan. “What are we going to do now?”

Dylan flipped open the top one and looked at the ID inside, closed it, and opened the second. “Well, well,” he said as crouched down in front of Vin and Ezra. “Looks like we got a couple of cops here.” He looked at the badges again. “A couple of ATF special agents…whatever that is. Guess you’re not so almighty powerful now, are you?” he sneered.

“You really should answer that,” Vin said levelly as the phone continued to ring.

“Or what? You say that like I should be scared or something.” Dylan waved his gun in Vin’s face. “You forget. We’ve got the guns and the hostages.”

“You know who we are. Our boss is probably out there right now. Trust me. You do not want him coming in here angry.”

Dylan let out a laugh at the implied threat. “What is he? The Incredible Hulk or something. I won’t like him when he’s angry.” He laughed again. “Just shut up and take care of your little boyfriend and I’ll take care of those cops.”

“Your funeral,” Vin muttered as Dylan walked away.

“He took that well,” Ezra observed. He rubbed at his head swallowed a few times as it looked like the nausea was going to make a reappearance.

M7M7M7M7M7

Time was slowly ticking down on the time limit Dylan had imposed before he’d start killing hostages. Maggie had tried several times to get him back on the line. Three times she thought she’d succeeded but all three times the phone had been picked up then slammed back down. The fourth time, the phone had rung without it being picked up.

With just about ten minutes to go, JD stuck his head out the door of the surveillance van looking for his supervisor. “Chris,” he called once he’d located him. “I’ve got it.”

Chris as well as Mulroney and the rest of the Team Seven rushed over. Since space was limited in the van, only Chris and Mulroney went in.

“I’ve tapped into the security cameras,” JD said once they were both inside. He pointed to one of the monitors. “It looks like they’re all in the waiting room. He looked worriedly over to Chris and pointed to someone on the monitor. “It doesn’t look like Ezra’s doing too well.”

Chris looked at where JD pointed on the monitor. “Damn it. This needs to end now,” he told Mulroney.

“Hold up,” Mulroney said putting out a hand to stop Chris. “I know you want to get your men out there, but we need to do this by the book.”

“Screw the book,” Chris growled. Before he could say anything more, JD interrupted him.

“Hey, I think something’s going on.”

The two men crowded around the monitor and watched as the bigger of the two perps pulled one of the hostages, an older woman, up from the floor, Wrapping an arm around her throat and holding his gun to her head, he started pulling her toward the door. As they went by Vin and Ezra, they saw the two men tense up and Vin reach behind his back.

“What the hell is your man doing?” Mulroney demanded.

“I don’t know but if we don’t move now, it’s going to be too late.” He spun around to the open door of the van. “Suit up,” he told Buck, Josiah, and Nathan. “We’re going in.”

Mulroney moved around until he was in front of Chris. “I’m giving the orders around here, not you. I’ll have you removed…” He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot.

M7M7M7M7M7

“What are you doing?” Vin demanded when Dylan pulled Nettie up from the floor.

“Shut up,” he screamed. He wrapped an arm around Nettie’s throat and put the gun to her head.

“Dylan?” Zack questioned nervously. “What are we gonna do?”

“We’re getting out of here now,” Dylan snarled and started dragging Nettie toward the door. “The cops aren’t gonna shoot her.”

Ezra picked that moment to push himself up shakily until he was sitting. “Stay still,” Vin hissed. He didn’t take his eyes off of Dylan and Nettie who were directly in front of them with Zack standing nervously to the side.

“Grab the skinny one when I say now.” Ezra whispered

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Dylan,” Zack said. “Maybe there’s a backdoor.”

“Stop your sniveling,” Dylan growled as he glanced over towards Zack. Ezra decided it was as much of a distraction as there was likely to be. “Now,” he yelled as he launched himself towards Dylan and Nettie. In retrospect, he knew it probably wasn’t the best plan. It certainly wasn’t well thought out, but he knew if Dylan made it to the door, Nettie’s chances would go down significantly.

Hearing Ezra’s yell, Dylan spun in his direction. Out of reflex, he pushed Nettie away and raised the gun in Ezra’s direction just as Ezra hit him in the midsection. The two men went down and began to grapple for the gun causing it to fire.

Vin acted on pure instinct when he heard Ezra’s yell of “now” and tackled Zack. Since the man hadn’t expected to be attacked, he was unprepared, and Vin easily overpowered him and wrestled the gun away from him. “Ezra,” he yelled out when he heard the gun fire behind him followed by the screams of the other hostages. “Don’t you move,” he commanded Zack. Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head. Now,” he yelled when Zack hesitated. He circled around Zack so he could see what was going on behind him while also keeping Zack covered.

He turned just in time to see Ezra get the upper hand and control of the gun. What no one expected were the windows to shatter as multiple cannisters of tear gas were lobbed through them. Just as he succumbed to the effect, Vin caught sight of the blood on Ezra’s shoulder. Most likely, it was from the gunshot he’d heard when his back was turned.

The tear gas was followed shortly by police and the men of Team Seven entering with shouts of “police”, “freeze”, and “drop the weapons”. Vin immediately put the gun he was holding down and raised his hands. Through tearing eyes, he could see it wasn’t a concern for Ezra who was curled up on the floor coughing non-stop. When he identified Chris and the others, he breathed a sigh of relief – or at least tried

“I can’t trust you two to by yourselves,” Chris said as he grabbed Vin’s arm and pulled him out of the building to fresh air.

For a brief moment, Vin considered a comeback, but he was more concerned with breathing and the burning in eyes. Even after he was out in fresh air, he knew the effects of the tear gas would take a while to wear off.

He tried to open his eyes to see what was going on around him but couldn’t manage to get them open more than a slit and even that was obscured by tears running down his face. It was enough, though, for him to see Ezra being carried out of the building by, he guessed, Nathan and Josiah. He didn’t need to be able to see to hear Josiah yelling for medical assistance. He was able to catch a blurry glimpse Nathan leaning over Ezra and breathing for him. “Ezra,” he gasped out grabbing on to Chris.

“Nathan and Josiah are with him. Nathan thinks he’s reacting to the tear gas,” Chris explained as he held Vin in place.

“Flu,” Vin gasped out through his own coughing and choking. “Hit on the head…maybe concussion…looked like he was shot.”

Chris looked up to Buck who was hovering over them. “Let them know.” When an EMT came over to start treating him, Vin tried to push him out of the way, but Chris held him still. “Hey. Let him help you. Ezra’s in good hands.”

“But...” Vin started to say only to be cut off by Chris.

“I said he’s in good hands.” Eventually, Vin ceased his struggles and consented to the EMT’s treatment.

Chris supported his friend as his eyes were washed out, but he couldn’t stop watching the commotion over by Ezra. To say it scared the shit out of him when Nathan had started rescue breathing would be an understatement. He kept repeating to himself the same thing he’d told Vin. Ezra was in good hands. Nathan had yielded treatment to the EMT’s who’d responded and there were also a couple of doctors who’d come out from the hospital across the parking lot to help as well. After a few minutes, Ezra’s body convulsed and he could hear the man start coughing. Chris let out a sigh of relief knowing that meant Ezra was breathing on his own again.

“What?” Vin asked having heard the sigh from Chris but still not being able to see what was happening. “What’s going on.”

Chris watched as an oxygen mask was slipped over Ezra’s face and he was moved to a gurney. “He’s breathing on his own again. They’re going to move him to the hospital.” He squeezed Vin’s shoulder comfortingly. “He’s going to be ok. You both are.”

Vin relaxed back into Chris grip. “Knew you’d get us out of there, Cowboy.”

The EMT indicated that they wanted to move Vin across the parking lot to the hospital ER as well. He tried to fight the idea, arguing that he was fine, but Chris would hear none of it. “You either settle down and go with him voluntarily, or I'm gonna swing you over my shoulder and carry you there bodily. It's your choice, but I'd suggest you take the option one.”

“Fine,” Vin conceded. At least he’d be in the same place as Ezra. He drew the line when they brought over a second stretcher. “I got two feet. I don’t need that.”

“Your eyes are also swollen nearly closed and you still keep trying to hack up a lung from the gas,” Chris pointed out. “I’m still willing to carry you.”

Glaring at Chris as best he could through his slitted, watering eyes, Vin grumpily sat on the stretcher and allowed himself to be wheeled to the ER.

M7M7M7M7M7

After having his eyes thoroughly rinsed and being held for a few hours observation to be sure he didn’t have any respiratory distress, Vin was released. He was still suffering some minor discomfort but knew, from past exposure, that that would soon pass.

Ezra, on the other hand, was in much more serious condition. Since his lungs were already compromised by the influenza infection he had, the tear gas exposure had caused him to go into respiratory arrest at the scene. Although he was breathing on his own, he was being monitored carefully for any more respiratory distress as well as the possibility of pneumonia developing.

In addition, he had also been diagnosed with a minor concussion, as Becky had suggested, and had six stitches to close the laceration along his hairline. The gunshot wound to his right shoulder had, thankfully, been just a graze with only soft tissue damage. It was painful, but it wasn’t life threatening. Other than that, his rib cage and mid-section both had bruising from Dylan’s abuse.

He spent most of the first day in the hospital going in and out consciousness. Even when he was awake, he wasn’t very alert. On the second day, although still in a great deal of discomfort from his injuries and the continuing infection, he was more alert and in tune with his surroundings. It was just the opportunity Chris had been waiting for to let him and Vin know what he thought of their stunt.

“Of all the stupid, hare-brained, idiotic…what they hell were the two of you thinking jumping those guys? I thought I told you to sit tight and not do anything stupid? Was something lost in the translation?”

As Chris went on with his tirade, Vin and Ezra did their best to look properly chastised while the others looked on.

“I asked you a question,” Chris demanded when the two remained silent. What part didn’t you understand?”

“It’s not that we didn’t understand, Chris,” Vin began to explain. He traded looks with Ezra who motioned for him to keep going. “We didn’t think it was stupid.”

“You didn’t…” Chris turned around and walked away from them as he marshalled his thoughts. “Let’s see if I’ve got this straight. You were hostages…unarmed hostages…facing down two armed men, one of which, by your own admission, had a short fuse. And you,” he pointed at Ezra, “were sick and already injured. And neither of you think jumping those two yahoos was stupid?”

“Technically, Chris, we weren’t unarmed,” Ezra pointed out. “Vin had my back up weapon.”

“And you made the first move,” Chris countered. “We were tapped into the security cameras. I saw what happened. The two of you are lucky you’re not dead.” His tirade was interrupted when Ezra started coughing. The timing seemed just a little too perfect to Chris and, for a second, he wondered if he wasn’t being played. It was only when the coughing continued, and Ezra’s face started turning red that he was convinced the man’s distress was genuine.

“That’s enough, Chris.” Nathan got up from where he’d been sitting on the other side of the room. He grabbed the nasal canula Ezra had discarded and slipped it back on him. “You need to leave that. Between the influenza and the tear gas, your lungs are a mess.” Once Ezra’s breathing became easier, he looked over at the others. “We should go, let him rest. You can finish chewing him out later, Chris.”

Now that he’d stopped coughing, Ezra’s face had paled considerably. Christ took this in and decided Nathan was right and nodded. “We’ll let you get some rest, but this isn’t over by a long shot.”

“Something to look forward to,” Ezra muttered under his breath. When Chris gave him a hard look, he smiled as innocently as he could. “It’s always a joy to discuss tactics.”

Chris shook his head slightly, unable to hide a small grin. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Ezra.”

One by one, the others said their goodbyes and made their way out of the room until Vin was the only one left. He was just walking out the door when Ezra called him back. “I’m curious about something, Vin.”

Vin took a seat by the bed so Ezra wouldn’t have to look up at him. “Sure, what.”

Ezra looked uncomfortable as he tried to find a way to broach his question. “A couple of times that behemoth Dylan accused me of being your boyfriend and one time you said you could think of worse. Now, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way but…” He squirmed just a bit before forcing out, “Is there something I should know because I think you might have the wrong idea.”

It took Vin a few seconds to understand what Ezra was getting at. When he did, he began to chuckle a little. “Don’t worry, Ez. You have nothing to worry about. Your virtue is safe with me. The reason why I said that is ‘cause I knew that goon was just saying it to try to get one over on us…and to insult you. I wanted to make it clear to him that that wasn’t going to happen.”

“Of course,” Ezra said pretending that he knew that’s what Vin had been doing all along. “It’s not that I wouldn’t be flattered, of course. It’s just that I prefer my paramours to be of the female persuasion. And well…”

“It’s ok,” Vin said to cut off the nervous rambling. “I prefer that as well. Still. If I did have other preferences, you wouldn’t be a half-bad choice. I know I’m damned proud to call you friend.”

“And I you, Vin.” Ezra quirked a small smile. “If there’s ever anyone I wish to get stuck in a hostage situation with again, it’s you.”

“About that,” Vin said as he slid to the edge of the chair and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I’ve got an idea for when Chris gets around to chewing us out over this again. We’ll just tell him it’s all his fault. If he hadn’t sent us off together, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“I would have never thought of turning it back around on him,” Ezra said with just a touch of wonder in his voice. “Mr. Tanner, I do believe you are getting as devious as me.”

“I have a good teacher,” Vin laughed.

“Next time he starts going on about me being late, I’ll just tell him it’s his fault for expecting me to be in early”.

Outside the door to Ezra’s room, just out of sight of the two men inside, Chris couldn’t help but smile as he heard Vin’s and Ezra’s words drift out at him. They’d stuck together as a team and, in the end, that was what mattered most.


End file.
